This invention relates to instructional shoelaces, more specifically, instructional shoelaces which provide a multi-sensory approach to teaching individuals the skill of tying the laces of their shoes and the instructional system utilized in conjunction with the instructional shoelaces.
The skill of tying one's shoe is often taught to children of a young age by adults. Traditionally, the adult recites a story or rhyme about a bunny traveling through the woods while showing the child how to properly tie shoelaces and, through a large amount of practice, the child eventually learns how to tie the shoelaces without the assistance of another. This is a major accomplishment in the life of a child, as well as the adult who taught the child how to tie the laces.
However, there are a large number of individuals who have difficulty learning how to tie one's shoes using the “traditional” method of learning. Be it young children with developmental disabilities such as autism, adults who have suffered a neurological event which caused brain injury or any variation therebetween, some individuals simply have difficulty in learning how to tie one's shoelaces. This causes not only frustration to the individual learning to tie the laces, but could also lead to feelings of sadness and disappointment.
It is a well-known fact that there are various learning styles available and by knowing one's own learning style, one will learn the subject matter with greater success. These styles include auditory, wherein a person learns by listening; visual, wherein a person learns by watching and kinesthetic, wherein a person learns by moving, doing and touching. Although a person may excel in one type of style, many often learn more by combining at least two, if not all three, styles together.
Using the above known learning styles, it would be most beneficial to individuals having difficulty learning to tie one's own shoe by providing a means for the individual to learn using a multi-sensory approach, thereby targeting the individual's own learning style and reinforcing the lesson by utilizing additional learning styles.
Thus, a need exists for instructional shoelaces wherein a multi-sensory approach is utilized to teach individuals how to tie shoelaces.
The relevant prior art includes the following references:
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